Burn draft picks

your got info than I do, but I will look into it....

 

I had read somewhere online that Dallas had the #12, but I don't know that for sure. What I do know is that DC United traded something (2nd or 3rd rounder) to Dallas for the right to take Ali Curtis. I didn't like the trade then, and don't like it now, but DC United owes the Burn something for it.

My guess on the #12 pick would be part of the DJ Countess-Winston Griffiths trade, but all I remember is that the Burn gave up their 1st round pick in that deal. It might have been that the Burn picked up the Metros 2nd round pick in that transaction, but is just my speculation, and based in no way on known facts.

 

That is correct. I remember reading that at the time anyway. We traded our 1st round pick and received their 2 round pick. With Chicago's 1st round pick (#4?), we're in pretty good shape for the draft as usual.

 

Yes Chris, the 3rd rounder would be #21.

P.S. thanks for starting this thread, I love knowing who has what going into the draft.

 

The Under 17 & U20 World Cups are in 2003. Usually some good players from those teams go into the draft in the same year as the WC's. This way the players can play U17, U20 and the college season in the fall. Then can play U17, U20 and MLS that spring and summer.

Another possiblity is that the U23 (olympic team) is going to start getting serious in 2003. Players still in college need to seriously thing about going pro this spring to help them make and perform well on the U23 team.

So, this could be a VERY good draft year!!

 

So we get three of the first 15 and four of the first 21? That's an average of one Burn pick every five picks for the first two rounds (for all intents and purposes). Not too shabby considering ten teams are drafting. Once again, the Burn is well positioned going into draft day.

Maybe Third Degree can dig up some history on what is around the 21st pick in the draft. I think Chivas may have been drafted in the late second round but I'm not sure.

 

Here is all time Burn picks....

http://www.3rddegree.net/archives/draft.htm

3rd Round is a crap shoot.....

 

Wow, there's some pretty good players that can be found around the 20th pick.

 

Yep. At least for the Burn, the end of the second round seems to the be the point of no return. I think that applies to MLS in general as well. Very few 3rd rounders or worse stick around.

So, now that we've got an idea of what the picks are, what should the Burn do with them.

Although I know it doesn't make for as interesting a discussion, I think the Burn or without any glaring positional needs and do have some depth, so they should probably take the best player available.

 

This thread has a list of all of the draft picks for the first 3 rounds. It includes all trades etc.

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=20373

According to Shawn12011, here's what they are:

1st Round
1) DC United
2) New York
3) Kansas City
4) Dallas
5) Columbus
6) Colorado
7) New York
8) San Jose
9) New England
10) Los Angeles

2nd Round
1) DC United
2) Dallas
3) Kansas City
4) DC United
5) Columbus
6) Chicago
7) Dallas
8) San Jose
9) New England
10) Los Angeles

3rd Round
1) Chicago or Dallas
2) New York
3) Kansas City
4) Chicago
5) Columbus
6) Colorado
7) Dallas or Chicago
8) San Jose
9) New England
10) Los Angeles

Refer to 3rdDegree.net for whether the Dallas Burn has the 1st or 7th pick in the third round. Other than that, I think Shawn has it all covered. Kudos to Shawn12011.

-Tron

 

the Natural Draft Order is ...

1. DC United
2. Metro
3. Kansas City
4. Chicago
5. Dallas
6. San Jose
7. Columbus
8. Colorado
9. New England
10. Los Angeles

Natural Order is the order based on "order of finish" and is prior to all picks....

 

What does Dallas need or what are they looking for in the draft.

I mean, they are solid in goal with Jordan, DJ and Vallow.

Gbandi, Bussey and Morrison give them nice depth in the back.

Stone, Zarco and Chad give them plenty of D-mids.

Oscar, Joselito and even O'Brien can play the attacking mid spot.

Vaca, O'Brien and Bussey can all play right mid.

On the left, Chivas is as good as anyone in the league, Behncke can back him up and, if Gbandi plays left back, Broome can play left mid, too.

Up top, there's Kreis, Rhine, Cerritos and Eddie Johnson all fighting for minutes. (If he's healthy, you have to figure EJ plays more next year.)

So, on the surface, the team appears to have no obvious need. Sure, they could use a "natural" right mid but they aren't likely to sit Vaca or ROB to play a kid out of college. And, yeah, they could always use another strong forward but is their gonna be someone better than what they've got available with the 5th pick? Doubtful.

So, what are they looking for with the pick?

 

The Burn are solid at midfield, defender, and GK. If there's one area of concern, it would be at forward.

Kreis started well but had another lackluster end to his season, there's still a question on how well Cerritos will fit in here, Rhine's play has been inconsistent, and the jury's still out on Johnson.

So I'd like to see the Burn pick a forward with the #4 pick if a good one's available at that spot. If not, I'd like to see them follow a pick-the-best-player-available draft strategy.

 

I'm not sold that we're set at midfield. First, we have to be thinking about an eventual replacement for Pareja who we should probably start grooming now, and I'm not sure Vaca can be it. Second, our midfield is just too damn small, we need some size! Finally we have no depth at central midfield which is the most critical area.

I'd like to see us pick up a quality central midfielder if one is available. If not, go for the best player available.

 

Stone looked pretty good from the little I've seen him play. And he seems to be doing very well with the U-20's.

If the Burn stick with a midfield of 2 d-mids and 2 flank players, would Stone be ready to fill in for Oscar and pair up with Deering at d-mid for the next few years?

 

It will depend on who re-signs.... Right now there are 4 players out of contract. How many of them are signed will depend on cap. There may also be other players who are not asked back. (try http://www.3rddegree.net/season/dance.htm for more info)

One thing I can tell you is that MLS drafts tend to be thin to a certain extent. Each draft, most coached tell you don't, go past 4 or 5 players that are "sure things" and very rarely out of the first round. Yes, of course you can find a player after that (see Chivas) but that is more often than not a surprise or a young player who needs lots of time (Ed Johnson).

So to a large extent it will depend on what U-17 and U-20 players sign with MLS (P-40).. it will depend on any under-classman coming out...

I think in the end at the #4 pick there will be one or two players left that are legit picks at #4 and the Burn will have to take what they can. The "Best player available" method as it were.

 

The rumor is that MLS may add 1 or 2 more developmental/p-40 spots. If this happens I think there will be more demand for the p-40 guys, so quality may be had deeper than in previous drafts.

Also, with contraction last season many kids chose to stay in school rather than join MLS. This season it should be the opposite, as some see that barrier removed, others mature, and situations force more to opt for the pros. Because of some of the youth tourneys timing (i.e. U-20's), kids will lose their college season playing for the US Youth Teams, and may choose to just join MLS. So, this should be the deepest draft yet.

-Tron

 

I got the chance to get a good look at Behncke in New Orleans - and I was really impressed with his ability to cover the defensive third perimeter. He's got good size, skill, determination (he plays aggressive, like a bigger Stone) and he's a left-footer.

We haven't had the luxury of a big defensive mid with that 'smothering style' (I really think Behncke and Stone will make quite the 'frustrate-the-opposition-with-dogged-marking' duo) and I see Behncke and Stone as long-term considerations for the Burn.

Pareja has developed a talent (it goes hand-in-hand with his ability to play 'keep-away' from his mark) of 'avoiding' damaging tackles that shorten the playmaker-midfielder role. And, he's an INVALUABLE leader - on and off the field. Look for Oscar to be and effective ball controller for a few years to come.

From talking with people within the organization and amongst the fans; there's a 'hope' of Cerritos and EJ playing together next year. If EJ can develop some maturity in England - well then, the sky-is-the-limit where his future is concerned. I'm amongst those that believe that Cerritos' aerial and 'two-man' playmaking ability will lend itself very well toward a successful pairing with a 'more-mature' EJ.

 

So I guess this means Jeffries will be looking to rest Jason more at the beginning and middle of the season. Sounds like a good idea to me.

With any luck, this should leave Kreis in better health by the time the playoffs come around, and Jason will hopefully score more than a goal or two in the postseason next year.

 

I agree. If Kreis is played as a 'super-sub', he'll be afforded the opportunity to keep his health and offer the Burn his crucial production at key times during the season.

I guess if players have been with one team and played most minutes... well, they may get a 'fresh perspective' and have that feeling of being young and full of 'spunk'. Perspective and excitement can become elusive for veterans. I also think the fans would enjoy seeing a Burn hero 'come in to save the day' kinda-thing too.

Let's hope it can work

 

I look at Burn as being the best drafters in MLS. (Honestly, we lucked out with Twellman - Who knew?) Given that you folks are again well-positioned, to put it mildly, I will be watching your picks with great interest. I think Sandon's got it pretty well nailed. The Burn is a very good team with really impressive youth and depth; the problem will be keeping the guys you draft (even with D. Tron's P-40 slots.)

Two opposing trends from last year's draft come to mind.

The Daouda Kante situation from last year deserved more press than it got IMO, in that DCU drafted him, but couldn't sign him, because he would take the peanuts they were offering. Don't assume that because you drafted him he's yours. Rev draftees, at least last year, all seemed anxious to try their luck in Europe. Maybe the Onweyu story will cool that off.

On the other hand, just as this is predicted to be a deep draft, all ten rosters (well, nine, as the Metros are having their annual make-over), have fairly stable rosters. I would guess that most are looking to upgrade at one position (for the stronger teams) or two (for the weaker teams.) It will be tough for anyone after the first round to stick.

 

As for it being a deep draft, I wholeheartedly agree. It's just conjecture until the underclassmen declare, but I think that this will be a watershed year for that. A lot of players past the first round will stick I think.

As for Behnke, wow, I was shocked at how solid he was tactically. IMHO, he's going to be the successor to Morrow, and I was/am a Morrison fan, so that's saying a lot. He doesn't look fast, but he has some wheels. I knew he was big, but I didn't realize how big he was. Sometimes people surprise you, and he surprised me.

I think Kreis is the starter. I think what was meant was that all of the 4 forwards would be rotated into the starting lineup to give Kreis some rest and to prevent stress injuries or to rest accidental injuries. IMHO, Yallop and Andrulis did a great job of this last season. Bradley usually does as well, but last season he rarely had 2 healthy forwards so he couldn't.

I agree that the Burn do the best job of drafting. I also think that DC United has done a good job as well. Convey, Santino, Nelsen, Lisi (he was good under Rongen at least), Kante (ouch, it hurt to type that).

-Tron